unit

Hi everyone,

I have a new car to me 89 S4 and have been here looking for a long time.
I Just paid membership also.

So i have a question.

My electric mirrors dont work and also the electric boot release and the head light adjuster dont work.

Also my internal lights work but the centre one doesnt come on when the door is opened(all the others do) but it can be turned on manually.

I was reading a post about the rear hatch release being linked to the lights and was wondering if all these small problems i have could be linked.
Maybe not but i would like some input please from others who have had these
problems

Regards
Sam

Podguy

90% of the time when the mirrors do not work it is the switch. The multi position switch gets dirt in it. You can wash it out with soem DeOxIt and it should be fine.

Getting the electric hatch release working is more art than science. The first step is to remove the lower and upper part of the latch. Push them together and then operate the release. If they jump apart then there is a good chance you can get them to work. If not the lower release mechanism is shot and you need a new one. I have found a large number of these not to work. If the lower latch will not push on the upper latch enough to release it the mechanism will never work on the car.

The next place to check is for wear on the upper plastic tongue. The plastic is designed to wear or even break in an accident. If the tongue is worn then get a new one. Get the pin that holds the thing together too. The easiest way to take the old one apart is to drill our the crimp on one end of the pin.

Once you are set there re-install the latch. There are some shims that go under the lower latch. The idea is to shim the lower latch so the hatch matches the contour of the car. If the hatch is too tight then the remote will not work as there will be too much tension. If the hatch is too loose then the remote will not work because there is not enough tension to pop the hatch up when it opens. Alignment is critical too. Make sure the two pieces are mating properly. The bottom latch has a spring which is supposed to push the hatch up and open. If the two latches bind then the spring is defeated. A little grease is a good idea.

The gasket around the hatch plays an important part in the operaton. Make sure the gasket is in good shape by the latch. If not get a new - and very expensive - gasket. You might need one just to keep the hatch from leaking anyway.

After that it is just a matter of playing with the adjustment until the hatch opens 100% of the time.

Good luck

Dan the Pod Guy.

Hilton

For the headllight adjuster, sounds pretty simple as per here:

http://www.928.org.uk//content/view/68/119/

(have to look down the page - 928.org.uk always has a random for-sale at the top of each page).

Its not working on my car either, and I'd bookmarked the page a few weeks ago on my list of things to get to

Leon Speed

According to a post on the forum of the german 928 club, the headlight adjustment system uses anti-freeze..I will fix mine the coming week..

daveo90s4

Sam, if you remove the rear hatch latch I am pretty sure you will find a couple of coins under your allen bolts. If you leave them out when reassembling you will hear the motor working but it won't engage the mechanism - so do put the coin 'spacers' back when tightening up the bolts.

Jeff928S4

Re the interior light not coming on with the door open......did you try wiggling/pushing in the black plastic pin the door hits when it closes? This is in the front door jam and tends to stick in....making the car think the door is always closed.

Bill Ball

The center interior light often wears such that it will not make electrical contact. Mine worked in the always-on position, but not in the door-regulated position. I tried "servicing" it, but only got slight improvment, so I replaced it.

Bill Ball

In the middle of this thread, Alan answers all possible hatch release operation questions.
https://rennlist.com/forums/928-forum/359129-rear-hatch-motor.html

BTW, even when you get the hatch release to work, if the hatch has to be set high with the bumper adjustment to stop rattles, the upper pawl is probably worn, not so much on the visible tongue, but in its pivot hole. I replaced mine based on a tip from Rog100 and my hatch is now perfectly level with the quarter panels and doesn't rattle.

StratfordShark

Do you have any more details on what kind of anti-freeze?

I've had headlight adjusters on my project list for ages but it's near the bottom. Read and saved the 928.org.uk advice when I bought my S4 but IIRC it says to use hydraulic fluid as used in radio control models? How would antifreeze work as a hydraulic fluid? Would be great if I didn't have to find a special oil/fluid.

Leon Speed

No, there´s no futher info on the kind of anti-freeze. I opened the adjustment system to look for the reason why it doesn´t work. The fluid in there didn´t seem to be oily, so I figured anti-freeze must be the right stuff - according to the german forum. I bought a bottle of regular undiluted anti-freeze at a gas station, costs a couple of dollars/euros/pounds. I still have to try it out though - found out that the acuators behind the headlights are missing...If this is not the right fluid, then still no problem because the whole system can be cleaned out pretty easily.

9two8

I had a go at refilling the pipes that supply the headlight lifter last year,.. bought some Tamiya remote control model oil,.... what I discovered is it,s almost impossible to fill these tubes, by trying the method suggested,.. in the end I reluctantly gave up!!,.... seeing this post brought it to mind, that if you could introduce the oil by some kind of pressure,.. like maybe a large syringe available from a chemist, sorry guys (drug store), then this might fill up the pipes,.. bearing in mind they are about the same diameter as windscreen washer tubing.
As I say the length of these pipes would take forever to fill, without some kind of pressure to aid it,..unless someone has actually done this job, it would be trial and error, not to mention a lot of spilt oil!!

sndrunr1

Finally got around to filling new tubing (teflon) that I put on headlight adjusters. It was pretty easy by using hand operated vacuum pump. I used DOT5 silicon brake fluid. I stuck 1 end of tubing in brake fluid container and the other to the vacuum pump with suction bottle between pump and line, to catch overage of fluid. No mess. Messy part was connecting rubber hose on headlight actuator and main adjusting pump to draw fluid into both so there was no air in either, just fluid. Won't work if you don't. Works great